One of the most unique aspects of Camp Nebagamon is the freedom that you have to make your own choices. Every day you get to choose what activities (we call them projects) you want to do that day. You do not get handed a schedule for the day, nor do you have to sign up for a certain set of activities for the entire week. On a cool morning, you may decide to play basketball and then try your hand at archery, and then, in the warmer afternoon, you may choose to learn how to sail. Or, if the wind is not cooperating that afternoon, you can change your mind and play tennis instead. The advantage of this freedom is that you can try out a new activity just to see if you like it. If you do, you can continue to pursue that activity as much or as little as you would like. You decide. Every day, every project period.

In addition to the tremendous amount of freedom you have to choose what you do each day during project periods, there are also multiple times during the day when you are free to explore. You can hang out in your cabin and play cards with your cabinmates, go to the waterfront and play in the lake during G-swim, join a game of Ga-ga ball, grab a book, and have fun whatever way you’d like.

It used to be that I would say that the most powerful moment of any summer was the Keylog ceremony during the final Council Fire of the summer. Who could possibly argue that the power of heartfelt and tear laden words, shared by a camper on his last night as a camper, are not the…